Ryanair is launching 14 new routes from the UK this winter, travelling to destinations across Europe. The Dublin-based carrier has announced it will launch flights from London airports in a move that will create 500 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers. Where can I fly to? Ryanair will launch flights from London Stansted Airport to destinations including Zagreb in Croatia, Helsinki and Tampere in Finland, Oradea in Romania, Trapani and Treviso in Italy and Stockholm in Sweden. New routes will also be launched from London Luton Airport, with flights to Gran Canaria in Spain, Naples and Turin in Italy, Grenoble in France and Shannon in Ireland. In addition, a new link to Malaga in Spain will operate from Gatwick Airport. Speaking about the upcoming winter launch, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said: “Ryanair is committed to rebuilding London’s tourism industry, jobs and connectivity as we grow across Europe and recover air travel to pre-Covid levels. He also called on the government to scrap the “stupid” requirement for fully vaccinated arrivals to take PCR Covid tests. Mr O’Leary added: “I would strongly call for the scrapping of any traffic light systems and move to a much more simplified system. “If you’re fully vaccinated there should be no restrictions, if you’re not fully vaccinated you should have a negative PCR prior to arriving.” The airline boss also insisted that there will “never be a better time” to book a winter break, as air fares will be “much lower” than before the pandemic while demand for travel recovers. Ryanair has seen a “very dramatic recovery in traffic” over the summer months and expects annual passenger numbers to reach “close to 100 million” this year, compared with 149 million before the virus crisis, and exceed pre-pandemic levels next summer. What are the rules for travelling abroad? A traffic light system is currently in place for travelling abroad, with countries divided into green, amber and red lists based on their Covid-19 risk. For green listed countries, arrivals need to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on or before day two of their return to the UK. However, travellers will not need to quarantine, or take any additional tests, unless they receive a positive result. Children and adult arrivals from amber list countries who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus no longer have to quarantine on their return to England, but it is still a requirement to book and take a day two test, and isolate if the test is positive. Arrivals from red list countries must stay in a managed quarantine hotel for 10 days, take a pre-departure Covid test and a PCR test on or before day two, and on or after day eight. Travellers can only enter the UK from red list countries if they are British or Irish National, or have UK residence rights. Since 2 August, fully vaccinated travellers from the US and European Union have no longer had to self-isolate when arriving in the UK from an amber list country. The rule change was announced as the government pledged to help to reunite family and friends. This article originally appeared on our sister site, NationalWorld.
